Faithful Conversations #81
Introduction to Readers:
John Wooden (1910-2010) and Kareem Jabbar
(formerly Lew Alcindor)
As a young basketball player, I was a great admirer of John Wooden — and, actually had the chance to meet him, including a 15-minute conversation in 1978 when he visited Concordia! One of my favorite quotes from Wooden (who was quoting Ghandi) is this: “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” It seems to me, that’s a good way to think about our lives as Christians — and it applies to studying the Bible! My intention with the FC Lectionary Blog each week is to provide guidance for the four readings, and I do that with great humility. My understanding of scripture is limited, but I know that we need to be persistent about it. Like me, I hope you are not content with staying at a superficial level.
James is in the line-up again this week and I’m gaining more clarity on the epistle. His words do not need a whole lot of explanation, in my mind. This week’s passage, for example, hits hard and is exceedingly relevant in our current political environment! We will come back to James two more times between now and the end of September, so I included this week’s reading in full. My reflections, however, will focus on the passage from Isaiah. Once again, thanks for your visit this week!
The Readings for Pentecost 17
Isaiah 50: 4-9a
Psalm 116: 1-9
James 3: 1-12
Mark 8: 27-38
Common Themes in the Pentecost 17 Readings
The readings for Pentecost 17 emphasize themes of perseverance, humility, and the power of words. In Isaiah 50:4-9a, the prophet speaks of unwavering faith and endurance in the face of opposition, trusting God for vindication. Psalm 116:1-9 reflects a deep gratitude to God for deliverance and the importance of walking in His presence. James 3:1-12 warns about the destructive potential of the tongue, urging believers to speak wisely, while Mark 8:27-38 calls for self-denial, highlighting the cost of discipleship and the importance of aligning one’s life with Christ.
Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 50: 4-9a
The Lord God has given me
a trained tongue,
that I may know how to sustain
the weary with a word.
Morning by morning he wakens,
wakens my ear
to listen as those who are taught.
5 The Lord God has opened my ear,
and I was not rebellious;
I did not turn backward.
6 I gave my back to those who struck me
and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard;
I did not hide my face
from insult and spitting.
7 The Lord God helps me;
therefore I have not been disgraced;
therefore I have set my face like flint,
and I know that I shall not be put to shame;
8 he who vindicates me is near.
Who will contend with me?
Let us stand in court together.
Who are my adversaries?
Let them confront me.
9 It is the Lord God who helps me;
who will declare me guilty?
All of them will wear out like a garment;
the moth will eat them up.
New Testament Reading: James 3: 1-12: Taming the Tongue
3 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will face stricter judgment. 2 For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is mature, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. 3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. 4 Or look at ships: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits.
How great a forest is set ablaze by a such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of life, and is itself set on fire by hell. 7 For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, 8 but no one can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless the Lord[d] and Father, and with it we curse people, made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth comes a blessing and a curse. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh.
Isaiah
by Michelangelo (1475-1564)
Do you have favorite verses in the Bible? As a teacher and coach, Isaiah 50:4 has always served as a mantra for me: The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed (New International version). My sense is that all of us at various moments in our lives, are teachers (whether professionally or not), and this verse, in my estimation, is packed with wisdom.
Soli Deo Gloria!
A PRAYER REFELCTION: Remembering Oscar Romero
Oscar Romero
(1917-1980)
A Future Not Our Own
It helps now and then to step back and take a long view.
The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
it is beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a fraction
of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.
Nothing we do is complete, which is another way of
saying that the kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith. No confession
brings perfection, no pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the Church’s mission.
No set of goals and objectives include everything.
This is what we are about. We plant the seeds that one
day will grow. We water the seeds already planted
knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects
far beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of
liberation in realizing this.
This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning,
a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s
grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results, but that is the
difference between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders, ministers, not
messiahs. We are prophets of a future not our own.
From Xavarian Missionaries:
Oscar A. Romero, Archbishop of San Salvador, in El Salvador, was assassinated on March 24, 1980, while celebrating Mass in a small chapel in a cancer hospital where he lived. He had always been close to his people, preached a prophetic gospel, denouncing the injustice in his country and supporting the development of popular and mass organizations. He became the voice of the Salvadoran people when all other channels of expression had been crushed by the repression. This poem was composed by Bishop Ken Untener on the anniversary of the martyrdom of Bishop Óscar Romero.
